Rural Patients’ Barriers to Care Access: 7 Notes

From Becker’s Hospital Notes

Researchers from the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the University of Utah, both based in Salt Lake City, found that 34% of rural patients said they have easy access to medical specialists.

The Community Health Assessment Survey is the first to focus on patients in rural and frontier areas, according to an Aug. 8 news release from the organizations. Rural counties have fewer than 100 people per square mile while frontier areas have seven people or fewer per square mile. More than 1,700 rural residents across five states participated in the survey.

Here are seven findings:

1. About 48% of rural residents said they had seen a physician in the past year, compared to the U.S. average of 85%.
2. Forty percent of rural women of the recommended age had never had a mammogram, compared to the national average of 22%.
3. Nearly 88% of rural respondents said they knew little or nothing about enrolling in clinical trials.
4. One-third of respondents said more telemedicine could help access to care, but only 81% have access to high-speed internet, compared to 91% of Americans nationwide. About 10% of rural areas said they did not have cell coverage.
5. Sixty-eight percent people said they were not aware of programs to help pay for medical costs.
6. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they had difficulty accessing cancer screenings.
7. Nearly two-thirds of respondents said increasing the number of visit specialists would improve access to care.